The Courtship of Iron Maiden Jeanne
by Angel-wing2
Summary: Lyserg x Jeanne Iron Maiden Jeanne's leaving for France to become a nun. Can poor Lyserg stop her in time? The SK gang helps out with near-disastrous results.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: No, no. It simply isn't possible. If I owned Shaman King, would I be here writing fanfics? O_o

The Courtship of Iron Maiden Jeanne

Lyserg Diethyl was desperate. There was no way he was going to let this happen! He scowled uncharacteristically and bumped into someone who was walking in the opposite direction. It happened to be Horohoro.

"Hey watch where you're going!" the Ainu said.

But Lyserg just ignored the other boy as he continued to walk away. 

"No one turns his back on me while I'm talking!" Horohoro yelled. He ran after Lyserg and faced him angrily. 

"Huh? Lyserg? I didn't know it was you." Horohoro said. But Lyserg didn't even look at him. 

"That was weird."

Later that afternoon, Horohoro dropped by the Asakura residence. 

"Hey Yoh! I kinda bumped into that British kid Lyserg this morning. And he was a mess! You shoulda seen him!" 

"Horohoro. He's here." Yoh Asakura pointed to a distraught looking Lyserg. 

Anna, Yoh, Manta, Tamao, Pirika, Ryu and Ren listened as Lyserg told them his problem. 

-*-flashback-*- 

Lyserg strode purposefully toward the garden. he would tell her today, there was no turning back now. He would tell Jeanne and... 

"Lyserg-kun." It was Jeanne's voice. He looked at her and his breath caught in his throat. His Jeanne was tending to a rose bush, her silvery blue hair loose and a few strands moved in the breeze, she held a pair of garden shears in her white hands, and was looking at him oddly. 

"O-Ohayo Maiden-sama." he said as he bowed, after snapping out of his reverie. Jeanne's beauty and spirit had this effect on him. 

He walked toward her and she paused. "I---" They began at the same time. 

"You go first, Lyserg-kun." Jeanne said, blushing faintly. 

"No....you go first, Jeanne-sama..." Lyserg said. Jeanne had stopped working on the rose bush altogether, and was focused on the young man in front of her. 

"Well...alright." she said. Jeanne looked at him curiously, her red eyes twinkling with a bit of amusement...and sadness? "I was going to save this for later, but now I want you to be the first to know. I'm leaving for France in three days, to be a nun." Jeanne said softly, wondering what he thought of this. Sure everyone else would be upset that she was leaving-- but Lyserg, he was somewhat different from the others. 

Lyserg's eyes widened in surprise, but he said nothing. He simply nodded. 

"I know it's sudden but--" the girl said "Anyway...what was it that you were going to say?" 

The green-eyed boy looked at her, the pain hidden quickly. "It doesn't matter." Then he took her hand and kissed it softly. "I wish you the best, Maiden-sama." he said. 

"And you're letting her go. Just like that?!" Tamao said, indredulously. 

"Well...well Tamao, you sound like you know so much about L-O-V-E. Care to tell us about it? " Horohoro teased. 

"Shut up!!" The females shouted. 

"Ok. ok!" Horohoro put his hands up in defeat. Women were scary. 

Jeanne looked at her image in the mirror. The Shaman Fight was over. She convinced herself that entering the convent was the right thing to do. Nothing else really mattered anymore. She sighed, except that a certain person kept popping up in her thoughts ever so often. It was getting much more frequent now. 

Lyserg Diethyl. Lyserg-kun. Green eyes, unruly hair, innocent face. A smile that could make iron melt. Even Iron Maiden Jeanne. Now she was smiling. Smiling by herself like a fool. What on earth was she thinking? 

"Now lookie here!" Pirika commanded "You're not going to let her go to France, ok?" Lyserg looked nervously at the three girls who stood in front of him. They looked like the world's toughest POW interrogators. 

"Ok here's the deal. Ask her if you can court her." Tamao said. "Then take her on a date the next day. You have three days! That's not much time, pal!" 

"What if she refuses?" Lyserg said. 

Anna glared at him like he asked a really stupid question. "You going to ask her, not Marco!" 

Ren, Yoh, Manta, Horohoro and the other males tiptoed outside noiselessly. They were very, very scared. 

Author's Notes: Like it? Not? Comments welcome. ^_^ 


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: The Shaman King characters herein are not my property. Though I do wish they were. ^_^

The Courtship of Iron Maiden Jeanne

The next morning Lyserg found himself standing in front of Jeanne's door, hesitating. How was he going to do this without screwing up? He knocked on the door. Lyserg was about to find out.

Or not. Jeanne was still in her nightgown. And she was rubbing her eyes sleepily. "Hai?" she mumbled.

The green -haired dowser blushed and backed up a bit too suddenly-- into a potted plant in the hallway. He fell into the floor along with the plant, soon he was all over the floor, leaves on his already green hair. 

Jeanne looked at him and blinked. She was wide awake now courtesy of Lyserg. Then it happened. The calm Iron Maiden was giggling uncontrollably.

"Jeanne-sama...I.. didn't mean to wake you." the young man picked himself up, frowing. She was laughing. Smooth, Diethyl, smooth. He looked at the girl, who had by now, regained her composure. His eyes softened, he'd fall over plants all day if he made her this happy always.

"Gomen..." Jeanne apologized shyly. She couldn't help it-- Lyserg looked like a tree.

"It's fine." Lyserg said as he brushed off the leaves from his hair. "Jeanne-sama....I was wondering if...if you would go out with me this evening?" There. he said it.

Now it was Jeanne's turn to flush. Was he? Was he...? Actually asking her out? She just stood there for an incredibly long time, dazed.

"If you don't want to...it's ok..." Lyserg said disappointedly. "Maybe next time.." he added. The girls would definitely kill him.

"Oh...no, no.." Jeanne said "I will go out with you." With that she rushed into her room and slammed the door. Leaving a surprised Lyserg.

Jeanne jumped into her bed, her heart beating wildly. She wasn't supposed to feel this way about anyone. She was leaving for the convent. But one little date wouldn't harm anyone, right?

Later that evening.

"Nani!?" Marco yelled "You're going out with Jeanne-sama?! Do you have any idea who she is? I forbid it!"

" I asked her and she agreed!" Lyserg growled uncharacteristically.

"But she is the Iron Maiden. Do not taint her with your worldly ways!" Marco refused to give in.

"Lyserg-kun, Marco-san." A voice said quietly. It immediately shut them up.

It was Jeanne coming down the stairs. She wore a simple rose pink dress that barely came down her knees. Her hair spilled over her shoulders and her pale complexion wore an unmistakable blush. Jeanne looked absolutely divine.

Marco recovered first. There was no way two of his charges were going out without his consent!

"Jeanne-sama!" Marco said loudly "Are you really going out with Lyserg?!" 

Jeanne nodded, blushing. Lyserg hadn't taken his eyes off her since she entered the room.

Marco scowled and stormed off. "Have a nice time, Jeanne-sama." He said icily.

"Shall we go?"

Lyserg lead Jeanne to the car waiting outside. There wasn't anything remarkable about the trip except for the fact that their driver was Ryu-- Ryu?

Sniff, sniff, sob punctuated by fresh bouts of crying. And every now and then Ryu would almost drive into a tree. Bad choice for a driver, Lyserg thought regretfully.

"Uh...is there anything wrong, Ryu?" Jeanne said concernedly. The poor man seemed like his world had ended.

"...Waaah!!" was all she got out of him.

"Ooops." Another tree, the car swerved emphatically and Jeanne got thrown into Lyserg's arms. 

After quite some time.

"You can let go of me now, Lyserg-kun." Jeanne said, blushing.

"Oh...sorry...!" Lyserg said, he felt his face go very warm. It felt good to have Jeanne in his arms, he thought. Jeanne on the other hand was still blushing and had become mysteriously preoccupied with the scenery outside.

"We're here. Thank you, Ryu." Lyserg said. Jeanne nodded her thanks as well. What a strange man. At least they didn't drive off a cliff.

It was a a cozy little restaurant beside a small lake. Lyserg smiled when he saw the expression of pure delight on Jeanne's face. It was an understatement to say that she didn't get out much. They quickly seated themselves by a window.

"Wow. This is really pretty." The former X-laws leader said as she looked out the window. White rice paper lanterns swayed lazily in the early evening breeze, and the moon had just began to rise. It was so perfect that it felt unreal.

"Good evening! I'm your waitress tonight." Tamao grinned as she flicked out a notepad to take their orders.

"Huh? What are you doing here, Tamao?" Lyserg said with surprise. 

"Oh, to make sure nothing goes wrong! What else?" she grinned, motioning toward Pilica, Anna, Yoh, Faust, Horohoro, Ren and Chocolove. All seemingly innocuous members of the restaurant staff.

"Oh." the English boy sweatdropped. But what could possibly go wrong on such a night? "Thank you." he said, everyone seemed to be putting so much effort in this. He would make sure everything went right.

The food was ready. And all was going well. They had finished dinner quickly and were now chatting away like they did this every night. 

"Waii! Aren't they cute?" Pilica grinned as she looked at the couple, who by now were so immersed in conversation that they forgot the world around them.

Huff...huff "He...they--" Manta panted as he stopped to catch his breath. The short boy seemed like he had run for miles without stopping.

Anna raised an eyebrow. "What is it, Manta?" 

"It's...it's..." Manta tried gesturing wildly and making odd flapping motions with his arms.

Anna was getting really annoyed. She took a step toward poor Manta threateningly. Manta cowered.

"Marco and the X-laws are headed this way!"

"Really?" Yoh grinned. "I'll take care of it, Anna." he said when she looked at him.

Lyserg's eyes widened with surprise when Yoh whispered it to him. "I should have known that he wouldn't let us go that easily." he sighed "What am I going to do now?"

"Just take her someplace else." Yoh said "We'll take it from here. Don't worry."

"I...really appreciate this, Yoh Asakura." Lyserg said

"Hey. It's nothing!" Yoh replied "You'd better get going!"

Author's Note: Thanks for the reviews! Comments welcome. ^_^


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: Iie, the characters of Shaman King remain, sadly, not mine.

Warning: Mild fluff ahead. Proceed at your own risk. ^_^

The Courtship of Iron Maiden Jeanne

"Jeanne-sama." Lyserg said. Something about the way he said it made the girl look at him suspiciously. She frowned at the respectful '-sama'.

"Call me Jeanne, Lyserg. Is there anything wrong?" she asked.

"Well...not really. Not yet anyway." he admitted "But..we have to leave now. There has been a change of plans." the green-haired young man looked at her intently, wondering if she would insist on knowing why.

She opted not to. Maybe she really didn't want to know. "Ok." she said and stood up. She was having such a nice time. Looking regretfully at the restaurant, she and Lyserg exited through the back door.

"Sorry about this. I'll make it up to you." he said. Just when everything was going well..tough luck, Lyserg thought. Then he brightened up suddenly, Morphin!

"Where is Jeanne-sama?" the tall blond man asked, temper kept in check, but not quite.

"What if I told you it was none of your business?" Yoh said calmly.

"Morphin!" Lyserg called out to his power spirit, the fairy immediately appeared, glittering like a bright jewel. She circled the two of them excitedly.

Jeanne looked at the spirit with curious eyes, she had seen Morphin before, but the circumstances then were vastly different. "I'm sorry." she said suddenly.

The green-haired shaman looked at her, surprised. "For what?"

"When you joined the X-laws, we made you give her up, didn't we?" Jeanne said, regret laced in her voice.

Morphin shook her head and alighted on Jeanne's shoulder.

"Morphin says she forgives you." Lyserg said. Maybe he would teach Jeanne the language of fairies sometime, Lyserg thought. "And that--" The young man blushed suddenly.

"That---?" Jeanne asked curiously. It sounded interesting.

"Uh-- you mischievous fairy!" Lyserg said as he playfully swatted at Morphin, who in turn hid behind Jeanne's shoulder.

"Oh...let me in on the joke...." Jeanne pouted when she noticed that Lyserg didn't want her to know what Morphin just said.

Oh, but it isn't a joke, Jeanne. Lyserg thought to himself silently. "Come on!" Without thinking, he suddenly scooped up the surprised girl in his arms.

"Take us there, Morphin." Lyserg said.

"Why involve yourself, Yoh?" Marco said as he put on his glasses. These stubborn Shamans and their idea of 'friendship'. Marco wanted to retch--the cheesiness of it all.

Yoh stood his ground. "Maiden can go where she wants to, am I right? And if she wants to go with our friend Lyserg, it's her choice."

"She is our leader. Maiden-sama has duties to fulfill and obligations she has committed to. It is not a 'right'." Marco sighed resignedly. "Just tell us where they went and--"

"Just shut up already!" Horohoro shouted. "If we said we aren't gonna--then we aren't gonna!"

"Brilliant, Horohoro." Tamao said dryly. The Ainu glared at her.

"Let's take this outside." Ren said menacingly.

Morphin's larger form streaked through the sky like a comet, carrying the two shamans with her. She was technically an angel in that form, Jeanne thought, feeling even more at ease. 

"Uh...Lyserg...?" Jeanne said

"Hm?" the English boy asked.

He sure looked handsome that night, the chilly evening wind whipping through his hair. Jeanne blushed and hid her face in his waistcoat. She was about to ask him to put her down-- as she was quite sure she could very well sit down by herself...now she decided not to.

"Nothing." she smiled.

Jeanne felt so warm in his arms. So...delicate-- who would have thought that her furyoku was _that_ high. But then again-- looks were deceiving. And here he was holding her because he thought she would fall? Who was he kidding anyway? But she was so pretty when she blushed, Lyserg thought, smiling to himself.

"Why are you smiling?" the French girl asked impishly.

"Huh...?" he was caught unaware. When...

...an explosion sounded in the distance.

"What was that?" Jeanne craned her neck to see where the sound came from.

Yoh and the others...Lyserg thought. But they'll be fine, I know it. With all due respect...the X-laws weren't as strong as the Funbari Onsen team...although he realized it quite late in the game. Even the Ren team was there, there was no question as to who would win here.

"Don't worry about it, Maiden-sama." he teased

"Hmph. If you call me that again, Lyserg Diethyl...I'm warning you!" she joked.

Morphin stopped at Big Ben, it was Lyserg's favorite haunt when he was a child. When everything was perfect, and he had no cares, most certainly not that of avenging his parents' death. But he was past that now...but before...there were times when he could not even bring himself to return to this city.

It was quiet. The large steel structure just stood there, ominous and comforting at the same time. A large golden moon had just begun to peep over the skyline, just a sliver of moon visible from were they stood.

"We're just in time to see the moon rise!" Lyserg said as he seated himself on a ledge. The moon was rising for the second time that evening. Morphin herself had disappeared into the pendulum, to give them...uh...privacy.

Jeanne remained standing. "Wow. It's lovely." she found herself awed for the umpteenth time that evening. "Is this.. where you used to play when your parents were..." Jeanne halted abruptly "Sorry...I didn't mean..." she mumbled. Lyserg had told her about this place before. About what he used to do before Hao came along. Bringing it up now just felt pretty awkward.

"No, no!" Lyserg said when he saw her crestfallen look. "It's fine."

The girl looked at him with disbelief, but sat down beside him just the same. The moon was rising steadily now, and the two of them just sat and stared at it in silence.

Lyserg looked at Jeanne. Didn't she know how divine she was? The girl was looking at the earth's satellite, her serene face bathed in moonlight.

"Jeanne." Lyserg said. Here we go, he thought.

She looked at him and pushed a lock of hair that the wind had blown from her face. It was so nice of him to give her such a wonderful time before she left for France. "Lyserg..." she said before he could continue. "Thank you. No one's been so kind to me before." Everyone was respectful, yes, even worshipful, but no one made her feel as Lyserg did. "I shall remember this when I'm in France."

The green-haired shaman sighed deeply. "I was...hoping that you wouldn't go." he said as he gazed back at the moon. It looked rather small now, like it had gone further off.

Jeanne smiled and shook her head. "I can't." Jeanne took his hand shyly, and blushed at her boldness. "It's been decided long ago, that I would enter the convent after Hao was defeated."

Lyserg squeezed her hand. "Then I will run after you, Jeanne. No one can stop me." he said with mock drama.

Jeanne giggled. He was so silly sometimes. "Don't tempt me, Lyserg!" she laughed.

Then a companionable silence ensued. It was nice and peaceful here, Jeanne thought, I would have played here too if I was a kid in London.

"Want to know what Morphin said?" Lyserg broke the silence.

"Yes please. I thought I would stay up all night thinking about what it was." Jeanne said.

"Well....she said that she loves the one her master loves." Lyserg said as he looked into her crimson eyes. Jeanne looked very shocked, he thought.

"Lyserg...I.."

"You don't have to answer me now, Jeanne....I just wanted to tell you that,...I love you." Lyserg said.

Jeanne blushed deeply. "Thank you."

At least he was able to say it, the dowser thought as he gazed at the stars. It was one lovely night, despite the fact that he wasn't able to convince Jeanne to stay. He liked being here with her. Here and now.

He was about to suggest that they leave when he felt a light pressure on his shoulder. Jeanne was asleep! He grinned and pulled her into his arms. What an extraordinary girl.

_tsuzuku.........._

Author's Notes: Sorry for the delay...I just had so much to do! ^_^ Anyhow, thanks for the reviews! They were really great. So, till next time! Ja ne!


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: One more time! With feeling! I don't own Shaman King! Last chappie now!

The Courtship of Iron Maiden Jeanne

Jeanne yawned as she forced herself to get up from bed. Rise and shine, Jeanne, the sun is rising, the birds are singing, and, he frowned as she looked up at the unfamiliar ceiling. Jeanne suddenly bolted upright...And I'm in.. Lyserg-kun's room!

Looking around disorientedly, and shaking her head, the former X-laws leader stood up and frowned...this must be some kind of dream, right? Heavens, no...I must have fallen asleep last night.

Scanning the room quickly, Jeanne spotted the green-haired dowser. His back was propped up against a wall and his head was tilted slightly forward, unruly green bangs falling across his handsome face. She tiptoed quietly towards him.

"Lyserg-kun..." she whispered. Jeanne was quite aware of the fact that if she made a racket waking Lyserg up, the whole mansion would be alerted. Not something she was looking forward to particularly. She nudged him gently.

"Maiden-sama..." Lyserg mumbled. He was clearly still asleep. "Just a...few...more...minutes..."

Jeanne sweatdropped, then decided to try again. "Lyserg-kun..." she whispered, a bit more loudly this time.

"Aaaah"

Lyserg and Jeanne sat at the breakfast table silently. The rest of the X-laws had excused themselves as quickly as possible. Only Marco was with them.

"And if you think what the two of you did last night...was amusing..." Marco said angrily. His arm was in a sling, and he had a few bruises on his other arm too, presumably due to last night's fight.

"...you are sorely wrong." he finished icily. "Maiden-sama...I was expecting so much of you." Marco continued frowning, he thought to himself, she still was the leader after all, so kept back some of his more biting comments to himself.

"And you" The blond man turned to Lyserg, almost seething.

"Enough, Marco." Jeanne said sternly. "It shall not happen again."

Marco backed off and leaned back on his chair. "Indeed it won't." he said.

There was a gentle knock on the door, and a tall blond woman entered. "Marco-san. The visitor is here."

"Thank you, Meene. Now if you'll excuse me." Marco stood up and walked out the door with Meene.

"Jeanne-sama. I'm very sorry. I shouldn't have...made you sleep in my room last night. But you were asleep and your room was locked...so I just had to...I couldn't think of anywhere else to place you." Lyserg apologized.

"It's quite alright, Lyserg." Jeanne smiled, her ruby eyes, twinkling.

After breakfast, Jeanne excused herself to meet the visitor, whoever it was.

"Good morning, Mademoiselle Jeanne." the woman said as she smiled. She was a willowy black-garbed nun, who wore glasses and looked strikingly like Marco.

Jeanne curtsied and sat down with them. Sister Eleanor had come a day early to take Jeanne to France.

"So, how did your date go" Horohoro asked Lyserg as he plopped down on one of the chairs in the living room of the Asakura household. It seemed like everyone had made it their permanent hang-out.

"It was great." Lyserg said with a faint smile. "By the way, thanks for your help."

"Is she still leaving" Pilica asked curiously, not trusting the dowser to actually convince Jeanne not to leave.

Lyserg sighed and nodded. "Actually, she left this morning."

"Aaaargh! No" Lyserg struggled as Yoh and Horohoro held him down.

"Sorry." Yoh apologized "Anna's orders."

"Y' know, you should have stopped her from leaving." Horohoro muttered under his breath. "This is actually all your fault, man."

"But...but...she decided already! Who am I to go against that" Lyserg said helplessly. The two other boys just shook their heads.

Jeanne closed her eyes and sighed as she looked out the airplane window. _I wonder what he's doing now. _The former X-laws leader leaned slightly onto the glass pane and frowned a bit. _Hmph. He'll probably forget all about me...in a matter of days...make that...hours. _Then, remembering herself, she covered her mouth daintily with a slim hand._ Tsk, tsk, such uncharitable thoughts! It wasn't like you and him were anything, right? Just friends! _With that, the silvery-blue haired maiden sat up straight and set her face determinedly frowning with consternation. _To the convent! Goodbye, Lyserg-kun! I will treasure your friendship always._

"Is anything the matter, Miss Jeanne" Sister Eleanor said as she looked at her new charge quizzically. The girl, the nun noticed, had been making a lot of unusual faces, much to her amusement.

"Huh" Jeanne said, rather startled. "Uh-I mean, pardon me...nothing is wrong Sister Eleanor." _Was she that obvious?_

The older woman looked at her one more time and decided that maybe Jeanne was just a bit excited. She was entering a convent after all. Sister Eleanor went back to reading her Catechism book.

A few days into convent life and Jeanne was already beginning to feel a bit sad. Sure the other nuns were nice to her. _It was peaceful, quiet and well- lonely!_ Jeanne sighed lightly as she carried more books from the cart to the shelves of the convent library.

The girl looked outside the window. It was dark outside, dreary and raining with abandon. In other words, it was just like her mood. Jeanne pushed back blue bangs from her face and continued working, most of the other nuns had already gone to bed. Not her. The more she had to do, the better. The moment Jeanne stopped working, she would remember...him. _Lyserg... _ Thunder crashed loudly and made Jeanne drop some books in surprise. _Oh! Maybe God was angry with her. _"Sorry." Jeanne muttered. _Lyserg has to be forgotten._

Then she heard insistent tapping on the window. _What on earth...?_

The blue-haired girl cautiously moved closer to the source of the noise. _An intruder? The wind? Her imagination? Ghosts! _She shuddered involuntarily at that last thought. Jeanne pushed open the heavy wooden window to check whether or not anything was actually making the noise.

Then a soaking wet figure peered at her from the side of the window. Jeanne nearly screamed in surprise when she saw something move. Fortunately she controlled herself and grabbed the nearest object, an antique metal lampshade and was about to use it on the intruder as best as she could, when-

"Jeanne"

"Wha-..." was all the startled girl could say in reply.

"Jeanne, I- I came for you..." the figure said haltingly. _ This is stupid. What if she doesn't want to come with me...what if.. _Lyserg thought, as if realizing the recklessness of his actions. This action in particular.

"..."

"Jeanne.."

The antique lamp fell on the carpeted floor noiselessly as the French maiden clambered up the window to the ledge and onto her beloved Lyserg. Before the startled young man knew it, Jeanne had embraced him in an ecstatic hug. He blushed as he put his arms around her as well. Whilst the rain still fell in buckets around them in the dark night.

"Jeanne...you'll get wet." Lyserg said worriedly as he patted her head. Her face was buried in his chest and as much as he enjoyed holding Jeanne, he was wondering what kind of trouble they'd get into this time if anyone would catch them in such a compromising position.

"Lyserg..." Jeanne mumbled something incoherent into his soaking shirt. He bent down a bit to try to catch what she was saying, she smelled so good, like roses...even in this pouring rain.

Before he knew it their lips touched. Jeanne had tilted her head upward the moment he bent down and there! The two of them gasped a bit with surprise, blushing with embarrassment and not knowing what to do or say.

Lyserg stood up, taking Jeanne with him as he did. "Maiden-sama.." He was grateful that it was dark and that Jeanne could not see how flushed his cheeks were.

Jeanne herself had regained her composure and was closing the window she had just passed through.

"You aren't going back in" Lyserg asked.

She shook her head vigorously and smiled that dazzling smile of hers. "Take me home, Lyserg-kun."

fin

Author's Notes: Yay! It's finished! Now all my fics are done! Thanks to all those who reviewed! I liked your reviews a lot! Arigato!


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